Crowswood Cottages Ickworth Park Suffolk

For my Sunday long run the weather was mild and dry with a breeze.  I set off early in the morning at 8am and still wore a thermal top and a sweat shirt along with hat and gloves. Day 14 of my 11 week Runners World SMART Coach schedule called for a ten miler at 9.20 mile pace. 

The road to Horringer is about a mile from Westley Bottom.


Entering the park in Horringer with St Leonards Church to the right and the gatehouse lodge there is a wonderful park full of trees much of the design being by Capability Brown for the Hervey Family.

Passing by the redundant St Mary's church it sets the mind thinking as to what this landscape would have looked like when there was a small settlement and villagers who lived here. The depopulation of Ickworth was presumably encouraged by the Herveys over time. From census records it doesn't seem there was ever much more than 100 residents. Apparently there was approximately 15 or so properties close to St Mary's Church with a square green.

I dispensed with the hat and gloves at this point as if anything I was a little over dressed and needed to cool down. 


Just past the church at the White Houses you have a choice of heading on to Chevington Village or you can follow the old coaching track out to Westley. I chose the latter the track way follows the course of the River Linnett.

There are pathways to take you through Twist Wood and Diary Wood and here there are plenty of sheep but continuing along the coach path this takes you to another White House and beyond this the New Warren area which is a wooded area and an uphill stretch out to the main road at Crowswood Cottages.

I returned on the Little Saxham road back into Bury St Edmunds and completed a further three miles along Newmarket Road.


My splits were 8.59,9.28,9.42,9.02,8.52,9.16,8.24,8.43,9.03 and 9.30 for a total of 1.31 .05 for the 10 miles. Again slow but within the 9.20 mile pace that was called for in today's run.


It completes the 2nd week and a total of 34 miles. Next week wil get harder again

Adkin's Wood Ickworth Park Suffolk

9am 12.2 miles in 1 hour 38 minutes 18 seconds

Week to Date mileage 35

Month to date mileage 110

Average weekly rate 35.1

Average Monthly rate 152

Weather: Cool slight frost

On today's long run I decided to take a new path in Ickworth Park oe which I haven't tried before. As you enter Ickworth Park there is a stile on the immediate left into some woods which has some red and blue markers. The ground wasn't too bad but was sufficiently muddy
and boggy to dissuade and walkers from venturing here. There are one or two stone markers from which I learnt this is known as Adkin's Wood and was planted in 1800 - 1812.

I have had a quick look but have yet to find out anything about Adkins and who he might be.

There was a lovely view of Ickworth House and this ties in fairly well date wise with the wood as the house was started in 1795 but not completed until the 1830's by the eccentric Hervey Family.Have a look at the link it includes a virtual reality image of the house. The gardens were apparently designed by Capability Brown though this would mean the gardens came before this house was built as he died in 1783. This is possible though as it is thought there were at least two previous houses to the current rotunda house. Who was Adkins though? Anyone know of him?

The church is the wonderful St Leonards named after a French saint, Leonard of Limoges (the patron saint of prisoners). It dates from the 14th century and must have some Norman connection . However the Norman period of history in England dates from 1066 through to the 13th century and by the time of the building of this church England in the late medieval period was in the grip of black death. It was estimated that between one third and one tenth of the population died between 1348 and 1350. So why was the church named after a French patron saint of prisoners ? After all England was at war with France in a battle known as the Hundred Years War. This war was very costly and resulted in Richard II introducing a poll tax .

Eventually the peasants revolted against their landlords in 1381 and though this anarchy was put down it was remembered for many years . The local Abbot in Bury Richard de Cambridge was murdered. It is interesting to note that the when the peasants Revolt of 1381 was finally put down a national amnesty was declared but Bury St Edmunds was the only town to be excluded because of the scale of trouble and violence. According to a BBC Website it was during this period that English rather than French became the language of daily use. Some how I just cannot see how folks in this country ever spoke French on mass! Just try and compare it to today most people in this country cannot speak another language - I could try and try to speak French but basically I am too lazy and I would never use it. These were certainly changing times when the average person if he wasn't killed by the black death was starved to death through high taxes. The Church remained extremely powerful in putting down and controlling the peasants. Does the Church of St Leonards have anything to do with the Peasants Revolt? Probably not but running raises lots of questions!